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Glamour And The Dust - Reflection from Northam Ladies Day (Part One)

Reggie Thei Northam Ladies Day WA Country Cups Heat Winner

Time has quickly passed by since the 8th of
October 2017 when I last had an opportunity to judge fashions on the field as the WA Country Cups representative.
This race meet was at Northam in the Wheatbelt of WA and wow-wee what
a fierce competition it was to judge!!!

The 60+ strong entrants did not disappoint in their fashion
stakes, all ladies impeccably dressed and ready to show us what they had in
terms of confidence, stage presence and sass.

The winner of the day was Reggie Thei who hails from
Sydney. At a last minute whim, decided to head West to catch up with her racing fashion friends and enter the WA Country Cups Northam competition.

Reggie was certainly
a stand out on the day – clearly demonstrating that not all racing looks need to be
agonised over for weeks before your competition day.

Spontaneity in this case was King!

Check out the link to her interview with WA Country Cups post her heat win

My other favourite look of the day was Aimee Holmes who
never seems to disappoint with her astute, crafty DIY abilities. Gingham being so very
much on trend I loved her take on it.

Aimee Holmes not only clever but also super crafty in her DIY Gingham outfit

I was also captivated by the flamingo skirt seen on one of
the competitors who made it to top 10 – bringing a fresh Spring vibe to her look, keeping it
super fun and flirty - pictured center in the next image.

Northam Ladies Day WA Country Cups Top Ten Fashions on The Field Finalists

The day at Northam did not go without its own set of trials
and tribulations.

Unfortunately my travel companions and I had not ever traveled to Northam previously
which is a shame as it is such a beautiful part of Western Australia. We did manage to get lost on our way from Fraser Suites in East Perth and then
also on the way into Northam itself – never trust a nav man is all I can say –
leaving us all stressed, hot messes on arrival to the track...

Instead of taking us to the racetrack, the heavily relied upon Nav Man was sending us to
the airport.... arrggghhh frustration city to say the least!

Sooooo Lost!!!.... Do not trust a nav man! Ever! Give me a map any day...

Bethany Braj

Once at the track, the day seemed to get a little more bumpy
for one poor attendee, who had a syncopal episode (AKA a faint for the non
medical inclined of the readership) at the fence line.

Without a designated course doctor in my clear line of sight I thought
it were only fitting for me to snap into my usual occupation mode of being a
doctor and render some first aid (albeit limited without any equipment and also heavily assisted by my kind friend Bethany Braj, who had recently completed
her first aid refresher – what a God send she was J
).

My usual daily doctoring capabilities focus heavily on
obstetrics (pregnant patients and their babies) so unfortunately for the unwell race
enthusiast, I was slightly out of my comfort zone and would have been much more
confident donning gloves and heading in for an emergency caesarean section –
this skill was not required on the day so I was very pleased to promptly hand over
patient care to the course doctor who is a long standing
experienced GP in town who calmly took control of events and who was the real
hero of the day.

All in all, I heard back that with some TLC from the local
hospital my patient was fighting fit by the afternoon but unfortunately not in
a position to re join us again at the track for more fashion, bets and bubbles.

L-R Nikki Gogan and Sarah McEwan

The next challenge was the judging, which as mentioned above
was a feat in itself with so many delightfully, appropriate racing fashion
looks to view.

I would simply love the ability to have been able to speak
to each and every competitor about their inspiration for their looks, how they
put their looks together and the entire story behind their choices however it
is a tricky position as a judge and unfortunately with 60+ competitors time
does not allow for such a detailed level of investigation.

Between Nikki Gogan and myself we were left with
the tricky task of coming up with the winners.

This stressful mission was made so
much more enjoyable with the fantastic hospitality of the Northam Race Club
organisers who were faultless from start to finish.

In fact, of the country race meets that I have been involved
in to date Northam certainly do take the cake when it comes to running a slick
show and I am not just saying that due to the unexpected, yet wonderful gift
bag I received at the end of the meet. :)

I
certainly have made use of the re-usable coffee mug provided and additionally the Veuve Clicquot champagne was very much savoured.

Thankfully finding our way back from Northam was a much less
stressful task. A few of my race buddies and I capped off a delightful day with
a stellar meal at my favourite restaurant Nobu, at the Crown Casino.

L-R Ainslie Jackson, Gillian Iannucci, Sarah McEwan

The meal rocked my world – special mention to the salmon
with chocolate sauce dish which I still think about regularly almost 2 months
down the line – which is a true test of a great meal in my book!

My next blog will cover my outfit inspiration for Northam. The vintage vibe I was aiming for was captured perfectly by Tash Brady from @tellingdesignsphotography and I can't wait to demonstrate our collaboration efforts.
I feel I kept true to my usual fashion ethos of collaboration, using collage to visually plan out my outfits and styling and using the resources I have around me to keep to my fashion brief of being environmentally, financially and socially conscious. In doing so I try to borrow or hire many items, trawl op shops or raid my Mum's or Grandmar's closet for that extra something special etc.

There are only a few days remaining before the next WA Country Cups Fashion of the Field winner is announced, I am really looking forward to the weekends events, super pumped to catch up with my racing friends for some fun times, bets and bubbles.